Portable bowling alley



Jan. 30, 1940. J. RIETSCHEL PORTABLE BOWLING ALLEY Filed Jan; 25, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 30, 1940. J. R IETSCHEL PORTABLE BOWLING ALLEY Filed Jan. 25, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 30, 1940.

J.. RIET SCHEL PORTABLE BOWLING ALLEY Filed Jan. 25, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 30, 1940 UNITED STATES harem" OFFlCE 2,188,740 PORTABLE BOWLING ALLEY John Rietschel, Chicago, 111. Application January 25, 1939, Serial No. 252,793 15 Claims. (01. 273-45) fIvIy invention relates to a bowling alley apparatus adapted to be set on a floor of a building and constructed for enabling players to display their bowling ability according to the usual bowlterring balls from bouncing over riser walls at or near the forward end of the apparatus However, no such heretofore proposed bowlingapparatus, to the best 'of my knowled e, has ever become commercial, presumably because of the following shortcomings, all of which my here presented bowling alley has already overcome in prolonged and extensive usage:

Toppled pins when tethered to a pin-plate unduly obstruct the path of rolled balls, both when the pin-plate has its top flush with that of the alley floor and with a somewhat lower pinplate disposed close to the forward end of the alley floor, thereby correspondingly affecting the players score.

(2) With the pin-plate lower than the forward end of the alley floor, a pin toppled forwardly so as to rest partly on this alley floor end will also unduly obstruct the path of the ball.

(3) With pins tethered to apin-plate disposed so near tov the somewhat higher forward end part of'the alley floor, or to a riser wall part of the alley, the impact of a ball against such parts is apt to rupture the tethering. I (4) Balls striking one or more pins which have been toppled on a pin-plate disposed according to prior patents also are apt to be bounced over the guard wall provisions of heretofore proposed bowling alleys, thereby causing injuries'to bystanders. Y j

(5) When side gutters are included in the ball return provisions, these undesirably increase the width of the apparatus, and an: attendant may still be needed for pushing balls into the gutters.

(6) If any portion of the pin-resetting mechanism is disposed in a ball-return passage under the alley floor, such a part or parts may interfere with-the free returnof the balls and also may be damaged by thelatter. And if disposed outside the frame of the alley, such mechanism parts may catch upon and injure the clothing of. by-

standers when the mechanism is operated for resetting the pins.

(7) If the apparatus is constructed for providing a substantially horizontal floor part between the pin-table and the forward end wall of the frame structure, a slowly rolled ball may easily be trapped in front of the pin-table. And if the just mentioned floor part is approximately at the same elevation as the top ,of the pin-table, more swiftly rolled ballsmay rebound from the forward end wall against still standing'pins, thereby unduly modifying the players proper score.

Illustrative of the manner in which I avoid all of the above listed shortcomings of previously proposed portable bowling alleys and also obtain additional advantages.

; Fig. l is a perspective view of a portable bowling apparatus embodying my invention. 1

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the rearv end of this apparatus, with the rear wall and adjac ent parts shown in a section taken along the iine 2-42 of Fig. 1, and with portions of the riser sides andthe two floors of the structure broken away.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the pin-supporting plate and parts attached to it. I

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through rearward parts of the apparatus, the section being taken along the common medial andlongitudinal line hector behind this plate.

- Fig. 5 isa fragmentary vertical sectionthrough which are partly concealed in Fig. l by the casing shown near the lowest corner of that figure.

Fig. '7 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line l'l of Fig. 4. i

Fig- 8 .isan enlarged elevation showing th chain and spring provision interposed between the lower part of each untoppled bowling pin and the lever "shown in Fig. 3, with the pin part, chainparts and spring shown in elevation, and

with both a portion of the pin-plate andof the said lever shown in section.

(L in Figs. 1 and 2) of the alley floor, the bowling-pin sup-porting pin plate, and the ball de-,

but drawn one. larger Fig. 9 is ,a view allied to Fig. 8, showing the the unitary sub-assemblage of the triangular" the diameter of the bowling balls B. The lower' or sub-floor S, upon which the played balls roll back and of which the two end parts are shown respectively in Figs. 4 and 5, extends rearwardly from a frontal and returned ball halting end plate E, to a rear end wall R. Both of these rigid end parts desirably extend upwardly from this sub-floor for a height somewhat greater than the uniform radius of the bowling balls B,

and the frontal plate desirably is rearwardly concaved and extends considerably below the forward end of the sub-floor.

The upper or alley floor A has its forward end disposed somewhat farther rearward than that of the sub-floor and desirably supported by a beam b which spans the two side walls and which is sufficiently spaced from the top of ball-stop plate F so that a player can readily reach and grasp a ball which has rolled back against that plate to the stored position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The said alley floor A has its rear end spaced forwardly from the rear end wall R by a sufficient distance to allow a horizontal and preferably triangular bowling-pin-supporting table top T to be spaced considerably both from that rear end of the alley floor and from the rear end wallR.

This triangular pin-plate is rigidly supported with respect to the previously described wall and floor assemblage, with the top of this pin-plate sufiiciently lower than that of the forward end of the alley floor, so that a ball rolled along the alley can fly over already toppled pins without touching them, and is of adequate size for supporting ten bowling pins P (of a size proportioned to that of the alley) in the customary relation to the longitudinal center line L (Fig. 1) ofthe alley floor and for allowing the lower end parts of toppled pins to remain on the pin-plate. For this supporting, Figs. 4 and 10 show the pin-table T as seated on webs W respectively fastened to the sides of a triangular frame F. That frame is supported by depending legs Z fastened by bolts 12 to a sub-floor S, the lower edge of the said frame being spaced from the sub-floor by a distance considerably less than the diameter of a ball, so that no ball reaching the part of the sub-floor behind the rear end of the alley floor can roll under the same frame.

To insure an operative positioning of the pintable and pins in relation to the alley floor, I

dispose this triangular frame and table assembly with its apex forward and its medial line in alinement with the said center line,'as.shown in Fig. 2. Then I also provide a ball-deflector D behind the said pin-table for laterally deflecting balls which have passed over the said table, which balls then roll rearwardlyidown on the sub-floor into the ball-returning passage in which such a ball is shown in the left-hand portion of Fig. 4. Forthis purpose I desirably shape this deflector vD asa diagonal half of a hollow square pyramid the sub-floor, and fasten this deflector to the rearward part of the tableframe F.

To prevent the bowling pins from being knocked completely off the pin-table I provide the following also illustrated pin-tethering and pin-re' setting provisions: First, I provide the pin-table T with apertures at having theiraxes disposed respectively as those of properly positioned bowling pins, each aperture being of smaller diameter than the lower end of a pin; Next 'I fasten the lower end of each pin to a chain which has a few uppermost links C small enough to pass through the adjacent aperture, and which has the next lower linkC sufficiently larger to halt the upward pulling of a chain, as in Fig. 9, when the pin is upset.

ThenI connect each such larger or stop link C through a tension spring 6 and additional links of sufiicient total length respectively to the apertured parts of a chain-spacing bar 1 fas- I -tened to one arm 8 of a bell-crank lever which* is pivoted (as in Fig. 3) to a bar-supporting rod 9 depending from and supported by the pintable, as shown in Fig. 4. Toco-operate with the other arm ill of the said bell-crank lever,

the triangular pin-table-supporting frame F also has rigid straps ll fastenedto and depending from it, as shown in Fig. 10, which straps jointly support a horizontal guide tube l2 through which a rod l3 slidably extendslongitudinally of the bowling alley. The part of the rod l3 rearward of the tube is provided both with a stop shoulder i303 which limits the forward drawing of that rod by a spring l4, and also has a perforation 53?; through which the lever arm It! extends U asin Fig 4 when'pin-resetting mechanism is assembled.

In addition to those formations, the slidable rod it also has its forward end part I30 connected bya wire or cable [5 to one arm I I ofa second ball-crank lever (Figs. 5 and 6) which has its other arm 11a con'nnected to a slidably.

depressible upright pin-reset-actuating rod {8 supported by a forward portion ofa side wall W of the alley structure and shown in Figs. 1 and 6 as'having a knob l9 atits upper end.

When thebowling pins'are intheir normal upright positions, the chains .fastenedto them :are somewhat slack and the weight of these chains co-operates with the proportioning of the upper chain linksto the corresponding pin-table apertures, for holding the pins properly disposed.-

However, whenever a pin is bowled over, this pin drawsthe smaller sized upper links of the cor-re be halted in an approximately horizontal position.

To prevent the most rearward pin, when top- 65.

pled forwards, from being depressed too far by the impact of other pins or of a ball, I also dispose a guard plate G between the. rear end' of the alley fioor'A-and the forward edge of the pin-table, as shown in Fig. .4. Thisguarcl plate preferably slopes rearwardly downward, sothat a ball bouncingon,v it, will readily roll. off,v and, i

thesaid plate has its top at such an elevationthatg i a toppled pin-Paresting on it ;will"b e below the level of the rear end of the alley floor, thereby permitting a subsequently rolled ball to clear that it pin; For this purpose, the guard plate desirably has its forward end lower than the rear end of the alley floor, and that plate also has its rear end somewhat lower than pin-table Tbut spaced upwardly from the sub-floor 'S' by a suflicient distance to permit a ball B to roll freely under it.

"When my bowling alley is in use, the effective balls usually move in a downwardly curving path after having passed the forward end of the alley floor, Consequently, the rear end wall R of the frame of my apparatus only needs to extend upwards from the top of the rear end of the subfioor'to a height not materially above the level of the pin-support, and even to less than that height, as shown in Fig, 4.

To cushion the impact of balls against the still upwardly projecting part of this rear end wall,

and also tov prevent balls from bouncing out of my apparatus over the upper end of this rear end wall (which in practice need only reach upwardly fromthe sub-floor to an elevation somewhat lower than that of the pin-table) I desirably provide these rear end provisions.

-First, I fasten the shanks of a downwardly open and upwardly forward sloping U-shaped screen support 20 respectively to the upper parts of. the rear end portions of the side walls W and W1 of my structure, as shown in Figs. 1 and' l. To the top'(or U-bight) of this support I next fasten the upper end of a flexible guard sheet 2! which reaches nearly to each U-shank of the said support, which sheet extends downward behind thejllpper part of the rigid rear end wall R. I also'provide a cushioning and noise-dampening strip 22 of such fabric (of a length nearly spanning the side walls of my structure) which presents a cushioning part behind the said rear end wall, this cushioning strip being shown in Fig. 4 is folded-over the top of that wall.

, Then I fasten the lower end of both of. the guard sheet 2| and the rearward part of the said cushioning strip 22 to the upper end of a tension spring 23 which has its lower end anchored to the saidrear end wall (as by I-bolts 24) so that to be flexed rearwardly by the impact of an upwardly bounced ball, and which also prevent downward friction of a ball on the part of the cushioning strip 22 which depends in front of the rear end, wall from pulling that strip out of soundedeadening position shown in Fig. l.

.Thus constructed, my bowling apparatus can readily'be factory-assembled. and shipped as a unitary assembly, and with the major parts constructedof wood can readily be carried by two men even when built in lengthsof up to twenty .feet. Moreover, since the player does not need to take more than a single step forward, my apparatus requiresonly a short space rearwardlyof it for the playersfand hence usedreadily in household rooms. So also, since no player needs to move to the rear end of the alley for picking up and resetting pins, many duplicates of my apparatus can freely be used when positioned side by side and relatively near to each other in any public play room.

Moreover, if the pin-setting mechanism needs re-adjustment, as for example because of a gradual stretching of the pull wire it, or if a damaged pin needs to be replaced, the pin plate table can readily be detached from its supporting frame for access to the mechanism below the sub-floor. So also, by first making the sub-assemblages shown in Figs; 9 and 10, I simplify and ch'eapen the cost of assembling my entire apparatus; and by detachably fastening both the guard screen 2| and end of the alley floor by a distance greater than the maximum diameter of the pins but considerably less than the height of the pins, I allow rolled balls to clear already toppled pins while effiecti-vely directed against more rearward ones.

However, while I have heretofore described my bewling alley apparatus in connection with an embodiment including many details of construction and arrangement which I have found desirable, it should be obvious that many changes might be made without departing either from the spirit of my invention or from the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a bowling alley for use with a given uniform size of bowling" pins, comprising an alley floor, and a pin-support spaced forwardly from the forward end of the alley floor by a distance equal to a major fraction of the height of a pin, the pin-support having the level of its top spaced downwardly from the elevation of the forward end of the alley floor by a distance greater than the maximum diameterof a pin but considerably less than half the height of a pin.

In a bowling alley, an alley floor and pin-support assemblage as per claim 1, in combination with a guard plate extending rearwardly from the forward end of the alley floortoward the pin-support for halting the downward tipping of the several most forward pins when these are forwardly toppled, the guard plate having its top'spaced sufficiently downwards from the plane of the top of the alley floor to permit subsequently rolled balls to clear such toppled pins while moving against more rearward pins.

, the top of the alley floor to permit subsequently rolled balls to clear such toppled pins while moving against more rearward pins; and a sub-floor underlying thespace surrounding the pin-support and spaced downwardly from the guard plate by a distance greater than the diameter of a bowling ball proportioned in size to the said pins.

, 4. In a bowling alley, an alley floor and pinsupport assemblage as per claim 1, in combination with a guard plate extending rearwardly from the forward end of the alley floor toward the pin-support for halting the downward tipping of the several most forward pins when these are forwardly toppled, the guard plate having its top spaced sufiiciently downwards from the plane of 'the top of the alley floor to permit subsequently rolled balls to clear such toppled pins while moving against more rearward pins; and-a sub-floor underlying the space surrounding the pin-support and spaced downwardly from the guard plate by a distance greater than the diameter of a bowling ball proportioned in size to the said pins, the sub-floor extending rearwardly below the alley floor so that balls can roll back under the entire length of the latter; and a riser web fast on the rear end of the sub-floor, the said web having 'its upper end spaced from the rear end of the alley floor by a distance sufiiciently greater than the said ball diameter to allow a ball-grasping'hand to move therebetween.

5. A bowling alleyfor use with counterpart miniature bowling pins and balls of proportionate size, of the class in which a pin-plate is disposed forwardly of the forward end of the alley floor, and in which this pin-plate has its upper face at lower elevation than the top of the forward end of the alley floor and at higher elevation than a sub-floor part forward of the said alley fioor end; characterized by having the pin-plate spaced forwardly from the said alley floor end by a distance approximating the height of one of the said pins, and by having the pin-plate present a horizontal top spaced downwardlyfrom the elevation of the forward end of the top of the alley floor by a distance greater than the diameter of the thickest part of a bowling pin.

6. A portable bowling alley as per claim 5, including a ball-deflector disposed forwardly of the pin-table and with its uppermost portion at an elevation not higher than the top face of the pin-table, the said deflector comprising two parts sloping downward to the sub-floor respectively in opposite directions from a vertical plane extending along the longitudinal axis of the alley floor.

7. A portable bowling alley as per claim 5, including a ball-deflector disposed forwardlyof the pin-table and with its uppermost portion at an elevation not higher than the top face of-the pin-table, the said. deflector comprising two parts sloping downward to the sub-floor respectively in opposite directions from a vertical plane extending along the longitudinal axis of the alley floor, the said deflector parts being triangular and sloping downwardly also toward the forward end of the sub-floor.

8. A portable bowling alley as per claim 5, in which riser walls extend both along opposite sides of the sub-floor and forwardly beyond the pinplate and to a higher elevation than the alley fioor; including a guardplate elfectively spanning the space between the forward end of the alley floor and the rearmost part of the pinplate; the guard plate spanning the said side walls, and having its upper face sloping forwardly downward at a sharply acute angle to the horizontal and presenting a forward edge at an elevation near to but not higher than the rearmost part of the top face of the pin-table.

9. A bowling alley for use with balls of a given size, of the class in which a forwardly upwardly sloping ball-returning sub-floor extends below,

and forwardly beyond the forward endof the alley floor, characterized by having all portions of the alley floor freely spaced upwardly from the sub-floor by a distance greater than the diameter of balls of the said size, and having no obstructions within the space between the said two floors; the bowling alley including a pinreturning sub-floorextendsbelow and forwardly beyond the alley floor, a pin-tabledetachably fastened to the sub-floor and spaced forwardly from the forward end of the alley floor; the pintable comprising a-pin-plate detachably fastened to a supporting structure, and the supporting structure including guard provisions preventing balls upon the sub-floor from rolling under the 1 pin-plate.

11. A bowling alley of the class in which a ball-returning sub-floor extends below and forwardly beyond the alley floor, a pih-tabledetachably fastenedatothe sub-floor and. spaced forwardly from the forward end of the alley floor; the pin-table comprising a pin-plate detachably fastened to a supporting structure, and thegsubfloor having an opening underlying the pin-plate; and pin-resetting means including elements extending downwardly through the pin-plate and the said opening,-and also including means fastened to the pin-plate for co-operation with an actuating member. disposed below the sub-floor.

12. Pin-resetting means for'a bowling alley of the class in which side riser walls are spanned both by an alley floor and by a sub-floor which extends farther forward t h a n t h e a l l e y floor, in which a pin-table is supported forwardly of the forward end of the alley floor, and in which said flexible elements, the said instrumentalities having'their major portions disposed below the sub-floor and having no part thereof-disposed in the space between the two floors.

l3. Pin-resetting means for a bowling alley of the class in which a pin-table supports bowling pins separately tethered to the top-plate of the said table by flexible members extending down- -wardly through the said plate, the said means including a lever support fastened to anddepending from the said top-plate; a bell-crank lever pivoted upon the lower end of the lever.

support and having one lever arm connected respectively to all of the flexible members, and

also including a lever-moving member operatively connected to the other arm of the lever;

14. Pin-resetting means as per claim I3,'in-

cluding a guide disposed at lower elevation than the first named lever arm, in which guide the lever-moving member is slidable, andmeans fast with respect to the top-plate of thepin-tablefor supporting the said guide.

15. Pin-resetting means as per claim 13, in-

cluding a guide disposed at lowerelevation than the first named leverarm, in which guide the lever-moving member is slidable, means fast with respect to the top-plate of the pin-table for supporting the said guide, and spring means interposed betweenthe lever-moving member and: a part of the guide-supporting means for resisting a movement of the lever-moving member in the direction tensioning thesaid flexible member.

JOHN RIETSCHEL 

